The Child Having Surgery

If your baby requires surgery, you may feel helpless. But there’s something you can do to make the experience a little less traumatic: breastfeed. Not only is it comforting for your baby, but nursing will provide the most nutritious and easily digestible food for a healing body.

If your child has moderate to severe pain, he or she may receive narcotics during and after surgery. If your child is in the ICU after surgery, he or she may receive sedatives along with pain medications.

Touring the hospital before surgery can help your child see the sights, sounds, and events he or she will experience the day of surgery. It is a non-threatening, often reassuring, way to learn about the hospital.